About once a year or so Gothamist makes a pilgrimage to Bensonhurst’s 18th Avenue for some Sicilian soul food. A little over 15 years ago, 18th Avenue between Bay Ridge Parkway and McDonald Avenue was dubbed "Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard." While that entire length may have been named in honor of the Italian explorer, the stretch where we usually explore the wonders of Southern Italian food lies between between Bay Ridge Parkway and 65 Street. Depending......

Santa came early and dumped some carnivorous coal down the throats of vegetarians in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood this weekend. The NY Press has reported that the beloved Veggie Castle – so named because it was converted from an old White Castle fast food restaurant – has abruptly closed. The Veggie Castle was as famous for repurposing the White Castle as it was for its vegetarian twist on Caribbean classics, offering such delicacies as jerk tofu,......

FR.OG and P*Ong, two perfectly good Manhattan restaurants that opened earlier this year, have names that independently invoke two classic arcade video games, Frogger and Pong. Now, as the fall openings season draws to a close and the votes for worst new restaurant name have been cast, we’d like to draw your attention to the most incredibly iconic new restaurant name in New York: It's that of Roclantic Eatery, a soul food and oil drum......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out and......

Bill O'Reilly continued to claim that he wasn't being racist when expressing his surprise that a dinner at Harlem soul food restaurant Sylvia's was extremely pleasant. Media watchdog group Media Matters distributed text and clips of O'Reilly's radio show where the conservative talking head explained, "I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even......

Bill O'Reilly is making people wonder "Oh, really?" after the conservative talk show host shared some thoughts about famous Harlem soul food restaurant Sylvia's. O'Reilly told radio listeners that he treated the Reverend Al Sharpton (because Sharpton frequently appears on The O'Reilly Factor) to dinner at Sylvia's the other night. He said he had a great time, but couldn't leave it at that, noting "all the people up there are tremendously respectful." And then:I couldn't......

On the hunt for a lunch/brunch spot whose griddle cook we don’t know by name, Gothamist headed to the newish Cheryl’s Global Soul, a cozy little eatery from Food Network personality Cheryl Smith (of Soul Kitchen). The restaurant’s comfort is encapsulated by Smith herself whose long plaits and almost cherubic grin made us forgive the spotty climate control (Cheryl’s vacillates from bitter cold to dry heat). In fact, her warmth nearly had us forget that......

Just steps from the interminable reconstruction of the BQE’s Roosevelt Avenue exit, and under the round-the-clock clatter of subway tracks, is Zabb Queens, an Isaan Thai restaurant. Isaan cuisine is soul food from the northeastern region of Thailand, and while the clichéd “hot-sour-salty-sweet” plate-view applies, it would be something bordering criminal to talk about Zabb Queens as such. A few things right off the bat: first, when you go, find out if there are any......

Whether you're ready or not, the holidays are fast approaching. Thanksgiving is just around the corner with Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa just a hop, skip and a jump behind. For many of us that brings happy thoughts of turkey, bourbon and pie but for others, it brings anxiety about all those gifts we have to buy. Now, save the “It’s not about the gift, but rather being with the people you love” speech. Whether we like it or......

As any serious drinker knows, a long night of boozing is best ended with a heaping helping of carbohydrates. One good place to get your fill is the East Village deli called Punjab, which stays open into the wee hours to serve its clientele of Pakistani cabbies. But late-night Lower East Side revelers have also discovered the cheap vegetarian chow. There are potatoes over rice, potatoes wrapped in bread (roti, $2.50), potato patties (aloo tikki,......

As you might imagine, growing up surrounded by the best soul food in New York can be somewhat detrimental to the waistline. Lindsey Williams, grandson of the “queen of soul food,” Sylvia Woods, learned this firsthand. Williams struggled with weight issues his entire life, and he hit his self proclaimed “rock bottom” after watching his wife and his successful career in the music industry disappear. He was 400 pounds. After recognizing that he had a......

The blog Muckracked noticed that the old space where the restaurant Hue used to be was taken over as a restaurant movie set for the Scott Hicks-directed adaptation of the German film, Mostly Martha. Gothamist loved Mostly Martha (uptight German chef becomes guardian of surly niece while dealing with maverick Italian chef at her work), so we've been following news of the adaptation for a while (at one point, Big Chill director Lawrence Kasdan had......

- Augieland gives us a glimpse of the Morimoto menu - Soul Food queen Sylvia Woods' grandson lightens it up with a new cookbook featuring healthier versions of soul food classics, highlighted in the Daily News - The New York Sun gives us two ways to enjoy the smoky spiciness of chipotle chilies for the Super Bowl. - The Times adds to the Super Bowl's gourmet gluttony with black bean and chorizo subs, chipotle meatballs......

The weather is heating up in the city and that really means one thing…time to pop some corks. This week the city is hopping with spicy, tangy, mouth watering goodness… Monday: Coturri Winemaker's dinner at Virgil's Real Barbecue 6:30pm, Cost: TBD 152 West 44th Street Time to spark up the bbq. What better way to bring in the sunshine than with bbq and wine? Tony Corurri heats things up by pairing his bold in......

While Gothamist loves to try all the new restaurants that seem to open on an hourly basis throughout the isle of Manhattan, we're also keen on discovering places that may be new to us but have inhabited NYC for decades. Especially at this time of year, with the stress of holiday preparations and the first major dip in temperatures, Gothamist longs for the type of restaurant experience that reminds of us of the home-style food......

Yo, Blacken This!: Hell's Kitchen Meets the French Quarter at the Delta Grill, by M.B. Roberts (Willow Creek, 1999). When Gothamist thinks comfort food, we want something warm and spicy, kind of like an internal blanky. Lately we've been drawn to Cajun and Creole food, which satisfies our hunger like no other cuisine. In our neighborhood alone, we have Mara's Homemade, Natchez, and Raga's soul food Tuesdays to choose from. But when one of our......

Gothamist literally stumbled into Raga a few weeks ago after a long night drinking and met Mr. Tony, a very friendly co-owner of the restaurant and the mastermind behind Mr. Tony's International Soul Kitchen. It turns out that it's the ninth anniversary of the original soul kitchen, so to celebrate, every Tuesday starting Sept. 21, the restaurant, a well-kept East Village secret, is serving a family style prix fix menu of "eclectic international soul food"......

It's encouraging to know that restaurants' efforts in objectifying women servers can go beyond Hooters type outfits and filter into even more culturally specific stereotypes. Case is point: Nightclub Lotus, which has just opened, Suzie Wong's Late Night Cafe, a reference to the movie, The World of Suzie Wong. The film is about a Caucasian artist and a Chinese prostitute, and the term "Suzie Wong" is a notorious negative stereotype - the subservient, demure, Asian......